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South Africa Should Stand with the Iranian People, Not Their Oppressors
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the 20th East Asia Summit (EAS), as part of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may be dead, but the warm feelings linger on in South Africa. The Islamic Republic’s brutal repression of its civilians and the US-Israeli operation against Iran, called Epic Fury, have placed an uncomfortable spotlight on the cozy ties Pretoria enjoys with the regime in Tehran.
Chants in Farsi of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” resonated in the Islamic Centre for Africa mosque in Johannesburg, South Africa, during a memorial service for Khamenei.
The mosque, which has placed an Israeli flag on the floor of its entrance to force worshippers to step on it, is part of the Ahlul Bait Foundation — a network of Iranian-aligned Shia mosques in South Africa.
But eulogies for Iran’s ruthless dictator were not confined to Shia mosques.
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), conveyed its “sincere condolences” to the people of Iran and implied the US-Israeli strike was illegal.
The ANC’s secretary-general described Khamenei as a “freedom fighter” and vowed, “We must not forget our friends.” The Al Jama-ah Party, which sits in the ANC-led government, explicitly condemned the attack on the Islamic Republic.
The South Africa-Iran relationship has blossomed since Hamas turned southern Israel’s flower-filled meadows into killing fields on October 7, 2023.
Just weeks after that attacks, South Africa’s then Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor visited Iran, sparking speculation that the Islamic Republic helped direct South Africa’s International Court of Justice case falsely accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
The ANC’s first deputy secretary-general called Iran a “fraternal” country that she was “proud to associate with” when she hosted the Iranian ambassador to South Africa at ANC headquarters in May 2025.
She went on to declare, “We can’t hide our friends when they actually identified with us, in the most difficult times of our history.” Last week she kept her vow, and led an ANC delegation that signed a condolence book for Khamenei at the Iranian embassy.
Additionally, the head of the South African armed forces pledged military and political support for Iran during an August 2025 visit, causing a stir — but he was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.
Unfortunately, Iran’s violent suppression of protests in January 2026 has made these fraternal bonds a liability for South Africa’s desired role as a beacon of morality. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for “restraint and dialogue.” Ramaphosa did not condemn the Islamic Republic for murdering Iranians, instead registering his “concern” about the “loss of life.”
South Africa even abstained on a UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning Iran’s brutality against demonstrators. Pretoria did, however, express that it was “concerned at reports that show that there has been direct interference by external actors to sow divisions and deepen instability in Iran.”
Not only did South Africa refuse to denounce Iran, but Pretoria also hosted an Iranian naval delegation while Iranian internal security forces were at the peak of their domestic butchery. From January 9-16, 2026, as part of the “Will for Peace” joint naval exercise, South Africa hosted warships from Iran, Russia, and China, among others. The optics were bad enough that Ramaphosa claimed to have ordered that Iran’s delegation be downgraded, but three Iranian ships — the Makran, the Naghdi, and the Shahid Mahdavi — were nevertheless spotted along the South African coast.
Coinciding with the naval exercise, the Iranian subsidiary of South African telecommunications giant MTN collaborated with Tehran’s crackdown on protesters. MTN Irancell, Iran’s second-largest mobile phone operator, sacked its chief executive for failing to comply immediately with the government’s Internet shutdown, replacing him with a more compliant director.
MTN’s involvement in Iran has been controversial from the start. The company allegedly bribed its way into Iran under the leadership of its then board chair, Ramaphosa. This venture raises concerns about Ramaphosa’s potential conflicts of interest in Iran.
MTN controls 49 percent of MTN Irancell. Khamenei and the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics controlled the other 51 percent, which made Khamenei and Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh — both eliminated in the past week — the ultimate controlling shareholders of MTN Irancell. MTN should consider the moral danger of doing business with brutal dictators.
The South African government has been a key ally of the ayatollah-led regime. The current US-Israel war against the Islamic Republic is the perfect opportunity for Pretoria to reassess its relationship with Tehran, clarifying that it stands with the people of Iran, not their oppressors.
David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Theodore Schneiderman is an intern. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow David on X @DavidSamuelMay. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
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Some Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz Before Shots Fired, Ship-Tracking Data Shows
A satellite image shows the ship movement at the Strait of Hormuz on April 17, 2026, in Space. EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2/Handout via REUTERS
More than a dozen tankers, including three sanctioned vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after a 50-day blockade was lifted on Friday, shipping data showed, before Iran reimposed restrictions on Saturday and fired at some vessels.
Reopening the strait is key for Gulf producers to resume full oil and gas supplies to the world, and end what the International Energy Agency has called the worst-ever supply disruption.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday Iran had agreed to open the strait, while Iranian officials said they wanted the US to fully lift its blockade of Iranian tankers.
Western shipping companies cautiously welcomed the announcements but said more clarity was needed, including on the presence of sea mines, before their vessels could transit.
IRAN RESUMES RESTRICTIONS
The ships that passed through the strait on Friday and Saturday via Iranian waters south of Larak island were mainly older, non-Western-owned vessels and included four sanctioned ships, according to ship-tracking data.
Iran arranged passage for a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships following prior agreements in negotiations, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
Other ships have been seen approaching the strait and turning back as Iran said it would maintain strict controls as long as the US continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The UK Navy reported on Saturday that Iranian gunboats fired at some ships attempting to cross the strait.
Some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying the strait was shut again and that no ships were allowed to pass, shipping sources said on Saturday.
Ship-tracking data showed five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas from Ras Laffan in Qatar approaching the strait on Saturday morning.
No LNG cargoes have transited the waterway since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
Hundreds of ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the conflict started and Tehran closed the strait, forcing Gulf oil and gas producers to sharply cut production.
Top producers such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait say they need steady tanker flows and unrestricted passage through the strait to resume normal export operations.
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Trump Greenlights Russian Oil to Ease Strain on Global Markets After War with Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, DC, US, March 27, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
i24 News – The Trump administration has authorized a 30-day emergency waiver allowing the maritime purchase of Russian oil, reversing a hardline stance in an effort to stabilize skyrocketing global energy prices.
The Treasury Department announced Friday that the license for crude and petroleum products will remain in effect until May 16, 2026, responding to intense pressure from international partners struggling with the fallout of the war with Iran.
This policy pivot comes as a surprise after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier this week that no further exemptions would be granted:
“As negotiations with Iran accelerate, the administration seeks to ensure oil availability for those who need it most. We must prevent a total price collapse for consumers while the geopolitical situation remains volatile.”
Ensuring global oil availability is paramount for the US as over 80 energy facilities in the Middle East have been damaged by recent war with Iran. With the November midterm elections approaching, record-high fuel prices at the pump remain a primary vulnerability for the Republican party. By allowing Russian oil back into the maritime flow, the administration hopes to neutralize “pain at the pump” before voters head to the polls.
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UK: Islamist Group Claims to Attack Israeli Embassy with ‘Drones Carrying Radioactive, Carcinogenic Materials’
A UK man has been arrested for allegedly threatening a group of Jews while wielding an ax on Rosh Hashanah. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – British police officers in protective clothing were seen investigating a “security incident” near the Israeli embassy in London on Friday, after a jihadist group put out a video showing it launching two drones allegedly carrying radioactive and carcinogenic materials toward the embassy.
“There is an increased police presence in Kensington Gardens and officers are assessing a number of discarded items. As a precaution, some of the officers who have been deployed are wearing protective clothing. We recognize this may concern local residents and the wider public,” police said in a statement.
“Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of a video shared online overnight in which a group claims to have targeted the nearby embassy of Israel with drones carrying dangerous substances,” the statement further read. “While we can confirm that the embassy has not been attacked, we are carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens.”
The incident comes amid a steep hike in antisemitic attacks in Britain targeting Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions.
The group that released the video was identified as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, a shadowy entity with suspected ties to Iran. It has already claimed seven attacks against Jewish institutions, including an arson attack in London where four ambulances owned by the Hatzolah charity were torched.